This Florida company’s imaging tool helps speed up natural disaster recovery efforts

It has, to date, been a calm hurricane season in the state of Florida, but any resident of the Southeast will tell you that the deeper into summer we go, the more dangerous it becomes.

There’s no stopping Mother Nature’s wrath, but a Florida-based tech company has come up with a way to help state officials begin recovery efforts after a storm blows through. The technology could eventually be used for other natural disasters, such as the recent flash floods in Texas’ Hill Country and the devastating fires in California.

Last fall, Urban SDK, a Jacksonville, Florida-based software company that aggregates traffic data to help public works departments spot problems more easily, launched HALO—a new service that quickly highlights the most pressing problem areas after a storm passes.

As soon as winds drop below 40 mph and the sun is out, the company tasks satellites and deploys helicopters, drones, and fixed-wing aircraft to gather aerial imagery of the storm’s impact. Those images are processed through its computer vision model, helping state and local officials identify areas where roads are blocked by fallen trees, flooding, or severe damage.

“Our first priority is to get the roads back to operational,” says Drew Messer, CEO of Urban SDK. “The goal is to have eyes on—in clear visibility—the most important impacted area within 24 hours.… What we are trying to [offer] is a centralized platform for that information.”

The imagery HALO captures also serves as formal evidence for state officials when requesting FEMA reimbursements for cleanup efforts.

While Urban SDK currently works with 34 states and over 250 local governments in its primary business, HALO is currently only used in Florida. The 2024 hurricane season marked its first deployment, but as 2025 progresses, Urban SDK plans to offer the service in other states.

Right now, HALO is a tool that is hurricane-specific. (The name, by the way, stands for Hurricane Assessment, Logistics and Operations.) Ultimately, though, Messer says the company hopes to adapt the service for a broader range of emergency events.

There’s growing need for that kind of flexibility. The recent Texas floods left more than 130 dead and caused an estimated $18 billion to $22 billion in damages and economic loss. Last year, Asheville, North Carolina, suffered at least $53 billion in damages and saw at least 42 fatalities after Hurricane Helene stalled over the city.

Scientists warn that more floods are likely. Warmer air holds more moisture, and combined with aging infrastructure and budget cuts to NOAA, storms—whether tropical or otherwise—are becoming more dangerous.

That could make tools like HALO increasingly valuable for search and rescue efforts as well as economic recovery.

Looking ahead, the technology could also prove useful in the days before a storm or disaster hits, by identifying vulnerable areas and providing simulated assessments of potential impact. This could help authorities implement preventative responses.

“There’s an opportunity now where we can coordinate a whole of government approach to these issues … and allow the disparate systems to be coordinated and joined together so individuals can make better operational decisions based on really relevant information,” says Messer.

That’s still in the future. For now, HALO remains focused on hurricanes, and Urban SDK is preparing to expand the tool’s reach beyond Florida. With forecasters predicting a higher-than-usual number of named storms this year (including 6 to 10 hurricanes and 3 to 5 major hurricanes), HALO could have plenty of work ahead.

https://www.fastcompany.com/91374447/halo-tool-helps-speed-up-hurricane-recovery-efforts?partner=rss&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=rss+fastcompany&utm_content=rss